Riders clear out lockers after 2023 season ends

While it comes every year, garbage bag day is always a tough one for the members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The CFL team was eliminated from playoff contention following a 29-26 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday – the second straight season the Riders finished their season with a 6-12-0 record following a seven-game losing streak.

One of the team’s big off-season acquisitions was quarterback Trevor Harris, who signed a two-year free-agent deal. The 37-year-old suffered a tibial plateau fracture on July 15 against the Calgary Stampeders and had to be a spectator for the rest of the season.

“It’s the first time in my career I ever spent an entire six games on the list, so it was very different. (It was) the first major injury of the year so it was very, very mentally challenging with the rehab,” Harris said.

“It was just the race against the clock trying to get back and just one of those things where watching from the sidelines as things were spiraling a little bit was difficult in a lot of ways. My personality is a little bit more alpha so you want to take charge of it all, but I didn’t want to step on the toes of Mason (Fine) and Jake (Dolegala) and allow them to run the show and do their thing as well.”

Before the injury, Harris threw for 1,274 yards, with six touchdown passes and four interceptions.

Harris said doctors told him he was going to be able to practise with the team if Saskatchewan had qualified for the playoffs.

“I didn’t sleep very well (Saturday) night. I laid there just a little bit in tears because I worked so hard to try and get back just to make myself available. I don’t know that I would have been able to play in the West semifinal, but the doctor told me, ‘I think we would be having an awkward conversation about you playing in the West final,’ which would be really miraculous,” Harris said.

“They told me initially it would be six to eight months before I would be ready to play. We’re on a nice pace but at the same time, you don’t control the outcomes in life. You just control how you respond. My response was to just work hard every day and be there as a resource for the guys and unfortunately, it didn’t work out with the outcome that we wanted. But it’s all about the next response.”

While Harris is under contract for next season and would like to return to Saskatchewan, the 12-year CFL veteran knows nothing is guaranteed.

“They are all one-year deals. If they say they don’t want you, they can cut you with no repercussions,” Harris said. “My last play can’t be me getting carted off the field. I’m not going to say it’s not (my last play). I always take time to reflect after every season.

“Physically this year before the injury, I felt as good as I have in the past six or seven years. I think I was moving around better than I have in a lot of years past and I did a lot of stuff this past off-season to kind of work on the arm strength.

“I think I’ve got plenty of years left as a Tier 1 quarterback in my opinion, but again, (you) just never know what the future holds.”

Evan Johnson is another Rider who will see what the future holds, as the Regina product is in the final year of his deal. He started the season as a member of the starting offensive line but was moved into the sixth O-lineman spot to end the season.

“It’s hard to say (what my future is). It will depend on how things shake up in the next couple of days and weeks,” Johnson said. “Obviously being a kid from Regina, I love it here. I’m proud to be from Saskatchewan and proud to play for Saskatchewan and if everything works out the way I want it to, I would love to be back here.

“I think I have the talent and I’m 29 years old so I still have a lot of playing years in front of me. No matter what happens, I don’t think it will be the end for me.”

While the focus turns to the future, garbage bag day provides one last time for the 2023 Riders to be together in the locker room before changes ultimately come to the team as a trip back to the playoffs in 2024 becomes a focus.

“It’s tough, especially when you have a good group of guys like we have. It’s a family in here, so when you see everybody go their separate ways, it’s tough. When things don’t end the way you want it, it hurts,” said running back Jamal Morrow, who’s in the final year of his contract. “You just have to enjoy the last time with your brothers and kind of go from there.”